From Betty M. Lindhe of Keene: I graduated in 1980 when I was 55 years old, but I still like reading about KSC and its programs.

1983

From Valerie: "It is hard to believe that almost 22 years have passed since we graduated from KSC. As I sit to write this, my own children prepare to go to college. In retrospect, my four years at KSC were filled with growth, learning, and quite a bit of fun! My address has changed. My husband of 19 years, Mike McKenney '85, and I moved last spring to Dover, N.H. Currently, I am principal at Marshwood Junior High School in Eliot, Maine. It is a middle school of 640 students located on the southern border. Who would have thunk? One final thought. Life is short; I encourage each of you to contact an old friend from your day at KSC. Rekindle a friendship, say hello, and update a friend on your successes. Or e-mail me some tidbits that I can include in the next alumni edition. My e-mail address is: mikevalmckenney@comcast.net. See you at the 25th in the spring of 2008."

From Randy Gates: "I was deployed to Afghanistan for a year with the Vermont Army National Guard. We joined forces with other soldiers and were tasked to train the Afghan National Army. To call Afghanistan a developing country is being generous. It was an exciting experience, though I did miss the birth of my second child, among other things. It was weird coming home to a seven-month-old son, but we've all adjusted pretty well."

1984

Seth Harris of Ashland, Mass., has been named EVP, Managing Director of DHR International, a retained executive search firm in Burlington, Mass. His focus is high technology and the recruitment of CEOs for venture-backed and multinational companies.

1985

From Professor Ken Bergman: "It is with sincere regret that I pass along the following sad news about one of my favorite students. Heather Defoe was a very bright and spirited young woman whose energy and cheerfulness always rewarded my efforts as her biology professor. After her graduation, my wife and I attended her wedding in Cornish, meeting her mom, who died shortly thereafter of cancer. Heather and David subsequently divorced, though they remained on good terms. She was diagnosed with melanoma in 2000 and was thought to have recovered until cancer was again detected earlier this year. I am in touch with some of her friends in New Jersey, who tell me that she was amazingly gracious, good-humored, and inspiring right up until her untimely and premature death the day after she hosted a party for all of her friends, who gathered at her bedside to say their farewells. She died Oct. 19, 2004.

IN MEMORIAM: Heather Defoe Pederson '85 died Oct. 19, 2004, in New Jersey. She earned her bachelor's degree in biochemistry at KSC and a master's degree in nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in 2002. She worked in the pharmaceutical industry and for the Food and Drug Administration.

1986

Peter Faulk (aka Beaker): Received your "nearly 20 years" note and it sparked me into action. Too many months going by without any news in the KSC mag from the class of '86. Family life has me very happily married for almost 15 years with three great kids, 7, 5, and 2 (girl, girl, boy). By coincidence, we moved back into my old hometown of Windsor, Conn., about two years ago. We live on a great cul-de-sac with about 10 families who love to get together all year round. Work has also been exciting. In the past two years I've been part of two mergers in my field of printing and I now work for the largest and most diverse printer in the U.S., RR Donnelly. My position is also diverse, working on proposals and presentations of our client facing systems and RFPs for some of the world's largest companies in many vertical markets. It'd be fun to hear from any of the "yahoos" who kept me awake at 2 a.m. on weekends with 110+ dB offerings of Ted Nugent, along with Chuck-call-me-Charles, Flash, Mike, Pencil Neck, Dan, Phil C, Lemmy, HoJo, Steve (my old Carle Hall RA), and others! pafkat@aol.com

1987

Mark Elmendorf of Bedford, N.H., has been a teacher in Bedford for 18 years. His wife of 12 years is Eileen and they have two children, Julia, 8, and Sara, 5. Mark would love to hear from Darrell Long. His e-mail is Elmendorf@comcast.net.

IN MEMORIAM: Karen Antonio-Muenzinger '87 died Jan. 29, 2005, at her home in Roslindale, Mass. She earned her degree in music education and received a graduate degree in trumpet performance from Boston University. She performed throughout New England and was soloist with the Bar Harbor Music Festival in 2003. She was heard on television and radio broadcasts in New England and appeared with several mariachi bands in addition to her classical music performances.

1988

From Jeff: Admittedly, I have been slacking off in my duties as class secretary (apologies to all), but do have notes this time around, with grand hopes that those of you who have not written, called, or e-mailed in some time will do so soon! Please share your news with classmates and friends. Otherwise, I may have to resort to filling this column with more information about me (trust me, it would likely make for boring reading), or, I could always start making stuff up about folks!

I did receive a few updates - some as a result of a mass e-mail to those listed in the online alumni directory (www.keene.edu/alumni), and others who took the initiative themselves to correspond

Jayson Brennen (jb3t@adelphia.net) e-mailed to say that he and Joe Gallo '89 made a trip to Foxwoods in a blizzard this past winter where they met Jay Haydu to partake in some gaming fun. While Jayson and Joe did very well, Jay - at least according to Jayson - did not do so well. They later coaxed Jay back to his house for his surprise birthday party. After a few hours of sleep, they decided to head back to Foxwoods for more gaming fun. Jayson reported happily that all three went home "winners."

Sadly, I received news from the Alumni Office that our classmate, Karen Antonio-Muenzinger, passed away Jan. 29 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Karen, a trumpet player, was recognized as one of the finest musicians ever to graduate from KSC. She performed with many orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout New England, including the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Portland Symphony Brass, the Granite State Symphony, and Apple Hill Chamber Players. She was an active member of the Boston-based brass ensemble, Innovata. For more information, you may visit www.innovatabrass.com.

Lisa Ryan (Lisa.Ryan@bankofamerica.com) e-mailed from her home in Charlotte, N.C., where she lives with her husband, Kevin '91, and their eight-year-old daughter, Mary Katherine. Lisa wrote, "Hard to believe we've been down here for 10 years. I work for Bank of America in Small Business Credit Card acquisitions marketing." She would love to hear from Renee Villane Ulcickas '87.

Melissa "Missy" Denault (missydenault@hotmail.com) writes, "Life is generally the same. I live and work in Salisbury, Md., and enjoy raising my two-year-old daughter, Mikayla. I work at the Mid-Shore Family YMCA as an executive director. Life is good living close to Ocean City, Md."

Chris Stephenson and wife, Michele Vezina '87, live in Medfield, Mass., with their daughter Madeline, 11, and son Thomas, 9. Chris has run an IT Consulting Firm in Charlestown, Mass., iCorps Technologies, Inc., since 1995. When Chris e-mailed in February, he and Michele were both training for the 2005 Boston Marathon and he wrote, "We hope to survive to tell the tale."

Diane "Dee" Delio '88 and Joe '89 are the proud grandparents of their seventh grandbaby, James Robert Delio, born October 2004. Dee has recently accepted an offer from Phoenix House, Inc. to be the family counselor at the Phoenix Academy in Dublin, N.H., a six-month therapeutic community for adolescent addicts and alcoholics. Dee and Joe send a BIG HUG to all you O-Staffers and your families!

Still working for the Denver Post as a sports writer is Adrian Dater, who e-mailed (ADater@aol.com) that while he covers NHL hockey, this year has been very quiet, as the league is on strike. Meantime, he has been covering other sports for the paper, including the Nuggets of the NBA; and, he even covered a Patriots playoff game against Indianapolis in January. Adrian's son, Thomas, turned one on February 12.

Annetta LaPointe (amlapointe1964@yahoo.com) lives with her partner of eight years, Laura, in Milford, N.H. Annetta wrote, "Laura has a son, Corey, 24, and a daughter, Andrea, 22, and they are my much loved stepchildren. Corey and his fiancé live in Orlando, Fla., and are due to have their first child any minute now and I have to tell you I can't wait to be a grandmother!" Annetta has done some freelance writing and currently works in customer service at a small publishing company. In her free time, she enjoys motorcycling and boogie boarding. "I think of KSC often and wonder where many of my Tau Phi Xi sisters are and hope that they are well. I learned much at KSC from classes and classmates. I cherish the memories and have used the knowledge as the foundation in personal and professional growth."

More from Jeff: One of my New Year's resolutions was to devote some energy toward planning get-togethers for southern California alumni. I am pleased to report that we held the first of our "First Tuesday" events on February 1 in Los Feliz. Joining me were Chris Peterson, Maureen Dawson '99, and Melissa Tchirkow '99.

Chris has been living in Los Angeles for the last 15 years and works as a production assistant. Currently, he is a set designer for the as-yet-to-be-released Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. Chris's wife is a gate agent at Los Angeles International Airport.

Our First Tuesday events continued in March at Miceli's in Hollywood, Calif. where I was joined by Lynn Izzo '79, Roger Memos '79, and Tina Santinelli '79. We were, again, a small but intimate group, and had a wonderful time revisiting our Keene days and sharing our southern California experiences. Lynn and Roger each have lived in California since 1981, while Tina has lived here since 1980. A profile of Roger appeared in the winter issue of Keene State Today.

Let me close by extending an invitation to all of you to join the recently formed class listserve. The Yahoo Users Group, KSC88, has officially been established as a way for classmates and friends to stay in touch and network. The class listserve is also a great way to plan reunions! To subscribe, send a message to: KSC88-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You also may contact Jeff at the address above. Hope to hear from you soon!

1989

From Maribeth: I heard from Laurie Sippel Murphy last fall, who e-mailed to say that she and her husband, TJ Murphy, had their first child - a girl named Reese Wilder Murphy - on June 12, 2004. Congratulations! Laurie says life is busy. She lives in Portsmouth, N.H., where she works as a speech-language pathologist for the Portsmouth public schools and has a small private practice.

Please drop me an e-mail to let us know what you're up to!

IN MEMORIAM: Daniel P. Dubriske '89 died Nov. 24, 2004, in Portland, Maine. He was owner of Dan Dubriske Carpentry in Portland.